Originally, the Gender Game project was created on the occasion of days dedicated to the promotion of science to a large audience organized by the National Research Fund (FNR). The current physical GG version is a giant board game (3X3m) and works in the Q&A mode and is played by four teams of 2 to 5 players each. The players roll the dice, move their figure on one of the four areas where gender stereotypes persist -knowledge, work, power and society- and draw a question card in relation to this area. The GG is more specifically aimed at children and young people, as well as to a more limited extend to adults; specific questions are dedicated to each of these three age groups and to each of the four identified areas of gender stereotypes. The GG can also be played in intergenerational games.
The objective of the Gender Game Flagship project is to deconstruct gender stereotypes by highlighting a scientific approach. The project is rooted in the social sciences and aims to outreach the public about the specific issue of gender equality by presenting scientific results mainly from research projects developed at LISER. The GG Flagship shall develop into a mixed physical and digital gamified device, elaborated as an extension and development of the physical GG version existing since 2016.
This project proposal is based on the experiences gained with the GG in the past and on valuations or feedback received by those who participated. It aims to develop the GG into a scientifically validated and accessible “physical-digital” tool. The core of the GG remains the physical play, but digital elements shall be developed based on a systematic review of the game elements. The GG will thus be entirely revamped including new updated questions, a co-creation between researchers, the game developers and the play animators, the group of animators being extended beyond LISER’s team by involving teachers and young people as volunteers.
The GG will target a national audience first, but the future development at the end of the present flagship shall be international, targeting the Greater Region for the physical-digital GG, and possibly in a later stage, with support by the EU, an international digital game development may be envisaged. Some exploratory elements of such a digital game will be discussed at the end of the current GG Flagship, but the focus of the Flagship project will remain the physical game with digital components.
A total of 70 to 80 GGs is planned (WP2), reaching 800 to 1000 participants over the duration of the project.